Workers file for living wage ballot measure

LONG BEACH - A group of community activists hope residents will soon get to vote on improving the wages of hospitality workers.

Members of Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community announced Thursday that they would begin efforts to place a citywide measure on the November ballot that would mandate hotel and tourism officials to pay hospitality workers "a living wage."

The proposed initiative would require hotels with more than 100 rooms, the Long Beach Airport and the Long Beach Convention Center to pay hotel and food service workers at least $13 an hour.

Carrying signs and chanting "Si, se puede," members marched straight to the Long Beach City Clerk's Office to file the paperwork.

"This is a historic day in Long Beach," said Gary Hytrek, a Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community member and Cal State Long Beach sociology professor.

"Today, we take the first steps toward improving the working and living standards for hundreds of workers and their families in Long Beach."

In front of City Hall, community members gathered to protest the low wages of Long Beach hospitality workers struggling to make ends meet. They carried signs illustrating workers' paychecks and bills they are barely able to pay.

They highlighted hotel employees such as Romeo Trinidad, a Hilton Long Beach housekeeper of more than 10 years.

"I love my job because I enjoy working at a nice hotel with a lot of friendly co-workers," he said. "But I don't earn enough money to take care of my family."

The Long Beach resident, who makes $10.81 per hour, pays $750 a month for a one-bedroom apartment for his family of four and qualifies for public assistance to pay for housing, electricity and gas.

"If I had a little more money left over, I would rent a two-bedroom apartment so that my kids wouldn't sleep in the living room," he said.

The general manager at Hilton Long Beach did not immediately return a call for comment.

The coalition will need at least 20,000 signatures, or 10percent of Long Beach registered voters. The group has 180 days from the time the city verifies the language of the measure.

"Our campaign for a living wage for hospitality workers is directed at some of the most vulnerable and marginal workers in the city working for some of the city's most profitable global companies," Hytrek said. "This campaign is a win for workers, it's a win for businesses and it's a win for the city."